Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SLEEPER-MOUNTED RAILROAD-SWITCH ACTUATOR
SPECIFICATION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION.
The present invention relates to an actuator for a
s railroad switch. More particularly this invention concerns such
an actuator that is mounted on a sleeper.
BACKGROUND OF~THE INVENTION
As described in US patent 5.562,267 of Heim, it is
known to mount the actuator for a railroad switch on a so-called
io box sleeper of generally standard dimensions. Such a box sleeper
is formed as an upwardly open channel to which the fixed rails
are bolted and on which the switch tongues can slide. A switch
rod in the sleeper, which typically is upwardly closed by a cover
plate when installed, extends out a drive end of the sleeper to a
is motor unit that is carried. at the drive end.
Thus this sleeper with the drive constitutes a fairly
long piece of equipment cannot be transported to the installation
site mounted crosswise on a rail car, like a staradard sleeper,
because its length substantially exceeds the normal sleeper
ao length and is thus to wide for most rights of way. Thus the
drive sleeper must be shipped separate from the other sleepers
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and must be oriented lengthwise of the flat car it is shipped on,
making its handling difficult and generally bothersome.
Alternately the drive unit can be mounted in the field onto the
end of the box sleeper, a job that is fairly complex and often
s difficult to carry out in view of the often difficult site
conditions.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTIODT
It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide an improved sleeper-mounted railroad-switch actuator.
~o Another object i.s the provision of such an improved
sleeper-mounted railroad-switch actuator which overcomes the
above-given disadvantages. that is which can be shipped normally
along with the standard sleepers not equipped with switch
actuators.
~.s SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIOhI
A railroad switch actuator has according to the
invention a transversely extending box sleeper having a pair of
ends, adapted to be secured to a pair of longitudinally extending
fixed rolling rails, and adapted to slidably support a pair of
ao longitudinally extending and transversely sh:iftable switch
tongues. A switch rod extends transversely in the box sleeper,
is connected to the tongues, is centered on a transverse axis,
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and is displaceable along the transverse axis to shift the
tongues. A drive having an output shaft is supported on one end
of the sleeper by a hinge for pivotal movement between a down
position outboard of the one sleeper end and with the output
s shaft axially aligned with the switch rod and an up position
between the sleeper ends. A coupling is engageable between the
output shaft and the switch rod in the down position.
With this system, therefore, the entire sleeper-mounted
actuator can be assembled in the plant. Its drive can be
carefully aligned with the switch rod and sc~ on. Then the drive
is flipped up into the up position and the assembly, which is now
the same length as a regulation sleeper, carx be shipped to the
installation site along w;.th the other sleepers. At the
installation site it is set in position by the same equipment
is that sets and tamps standard sleepers, then the drive is pivotal
down and, according to the invention, secured in place. The
output shaft of the drive is coupled to the switch rod, and the
installation is complete. The extra production cost entailed in
replacing the otherwise necessary one-piece mount or mouats for
ao the drive with hinges is more than outweighed by the saving at
the installation site, where the drive is.easily secured in
gosition and coupled up, with nothing more complicated than
cotter pins being used. The precise alignment of the drive shaft
with the switch rod has been lane at the factory, so~that no
as skilled mechanics are needed in the field-:
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The hinge according to the invention defines a pivot
axis that lies substantially above the switch-rod axis at the one
sleeper end. Thus even without a latch holding the drive down,
gravity will serve to keep it in place and, when the motor in the
s drive is moving the switch rod, the forces will not be sufficient
to lever up the heavy drive.
The hinge in accordance with the invention includes two
eyes centered on the pivot axis and fixed to an upper side of the
box sleeper and respective rigid arms on the drive having inner
io ends formed as eyes pivoted on the eyes of the sleeper. The arms
can be generally Z-shaped and have outer ends extending
underneath the drive and webs that lie flatly against the one
sleeper end in the down position of the drive. d2espective
reinforcement webs are provided on the arms at inside corners
~s between the respective inner arms and webs. The arms can have
outer-ends tips that project in the down position horizontally
outward past the drive and that can be used to bolt down the
drive. in the down installed position. In this case a sacrificial
strut extending generally vertically between one of the outer-end
ao tips and the box sleeper in the up position supports the drive on
the box sleeper, bracing it against damage during transport.
Once the drive is pivoted down when the actuator is installed,
the strut is discarded. In addition this construction means that
the drive motor can be covered at the factory With a rugged
z5 housing that need not be removed in the field for the final
installation.
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In another embodiment of the invention respective L-
shaped plates each have an inner leg forming a respective one of
the eyes and lying on an upper surface of the box sleeper and an
outer leg lying flatly against an end face of the one sleeper
end. A web can unitarily join the outer legs of the plates below
the rod axis. This makes a very strong connection between the
drive and the sleeper.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The above and other objects, features, and advantages
will become more readily apparent from the following description,
it being understood that any feature described with reference to
s one embodiment of the invention can be used where possible with
any other embodiment and that reference numerals or letters not
specifically mentioned wi~;h reference to one figure but identical
to those of another refer to structure that is functionally if
not structurally identical. In the accompanying drawing:
~o FIG. 1 is a perspective view from above of the instant
invention in the installed position;
FIG. 2 is a large-scale view of a detail of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view like FIG. 1, but with the
sleeper-mounted actuator in the shipping position;
is FIG. 4 is a side view of the actuator in the FIG. 3
shipping position;
FIG. 5 is another large-scale view of a detail of the
actuator;
FIG. 6 is a view like FIG. 3 of another actuator
ao according to the invention in the shipping position; and
FIG. 7 is a large-scale perspective view of a detail of
the actuator of FIG. 6 in the installed condition.
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SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION
As seen in FIGS. 1 to 5, an actuator 1 according to the
invention is mounted on a box sleeper 2 formed as an upwardly
open channel that extends transversely of a pair of standard
s rails 3 and 4 that are fixedly bolted to it and that extend
longitudinally. A pair of switching tongues 5a and 5b are
slidable transversely atop the box sleeper 2 as is standard in a
railroad switch. These tongues 5a and 5b a:re secured together by
a switch rod 6 that extends along a horizontal axis 36 underneath
~o the upper surface of the sleeper~2 and perpendicular to the rails
3 and 4 so that transverse shifting that is parallel to the axis
36~ of the rod 6 operates the switch.
According to the invention a drive unit 8a is mounted
at a drive end 7 of the sleeper 2 for pivoting about a horizontal
~s and longitudinal axis 9 that is above and perpendicular to the
axis 36 of the switch rod 6. To this end the drive 8a is fixed
to a pair of longitudinally spaced Z-shaped mounting arms or bars
and 11 having outer ends 26 to which the drive 8a is fixed and
which even extend outward somewhat past this drive 8a and inner
ao ends 14 aad 15 connected by hinges 12 and 13 to the sleeper 2.
These hinges 12 and 13 are formed by respective eyes 16 and 17 on
the bars 10 and 11 that lie between pairs of eyes 18 and 19 that
are part of plates 20 and 2l that are bolted to the top surfaces
of the upright flanges of the box sleeper 2. Pins 33
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interconnect the eyes 16 and 18, and pans 34 interconnect the
eyes 17 and 19 at the axis 9.
Prior to use, the entire motor unit 8a is pivoted up
about the axis 9 so that-it lies wholly inward of the drive end 7
s of the sleeper 2 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. A strut 29 extends
between the end 26 of the bar 11 and a central point in the
sleeper 2 to support the drive 8a that has a heavy motor.
Once the unit 1 is at the installation site, the strut
29 is removed and the motor 8a is swung out so as shown in FIG. 2
zo it is outside the end '~ and its output shafia 8b is coaxial with
the rod 6. The shaft 8b can be coupled by a pin 31 to a fork 30
to the outer end of the rod 6. In this position plates 22 and 23
are secured by bolts 34 and 35 against the top faces of the inner
ends 14 and 15 of the Z-shaped mounting bars 10 and 11 to lock
is the drive 8a in place.
FIGS. 6 and 7 show another embodiment of the invention
where the main difference is that the arms 10 and 11 are not
used. Instead a pair of L-shaped plates 20a and 21a are bolted
to the upper surfaces of the and that have outer ends projecting
zo past the drive end 7 and formed as forks 18a and 19a in which fit
eyes 16a and 17a of L-shaped arms 10a and 11a; with gussets 27
reinforcing inside corners of the L-shaped arms l0a and 11a. The
plates 20a and 21a also have outer-end flanges 24a and 25a that
extend downward and fit flatly against the drive end 7 and that
as are'unitarily interconnected together below the rod 6 by a bar
28. When in the installed position, rods 37 passing through eyes
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38 on the flanges 24a and 25a and secured in place by cotter gins
39 prevent the drive 8a from lifting up. Under normal
circumstances, as in FIGS. 1 to 5, the connectian of the drive
shaft 8b to the rod 6 holds the drive 8a down' plus the
s orientation of the axis 36 below the axis 9.
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